# NFL Draft - The best Mr. Irrelevant **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2006, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918 "2006-05-01T05:02:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/1 "2006-05-01T05:02:52Z")
The last man drafted each year in the NFL is dubbed Mr. Irrelevant, a tradition that goes back a few decades. I am sure that most of them don’t make the team and fade into obscurity. Who were the best of the last? Have any of them made the cut, played in a game, actually made a name for themselves (other than “Mr. Irrelevant”)? ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/2 "2006-05-01T05:12:18Z")
Linebacker Marty Moore played in a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots. Defensive back Mike Green started for the Seattle Seahawks in a Super Bowl. Jim Finn is a pretty good fullback. Offensive lineman Matt Elliott carved out a reasonably productive career with a handful of teams – and, unlike the others, he was the Mr. Irrelevant of a draft that still included 12 rounds. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/3 "2006-05-01T08:22:07Z")
[QUOTE=Snooooopy] Jim Finn is a pretty good fullback. [/QUOTE] Yeah, that’s who I was going to mention. He languished in the Colts fullback-less system for years, but then came to New York and has been a significant factor in the amazing production Tiki has enjoyed for the past few seasons. And he catches pretty well, too. He’s no [Chargers guy whose name I forget,] but rather he’s the epitome of the fullback position in this, the post-fullback era. IOW, he’s the poster child for Mr. Irrelevant Does Good. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/4 "2006-05-01T11:49:53Z")
Chargers guy whose name you forget = Lorenzo Neal ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/5 "2006-05-01T11:51:35Z")
Ooh…by the way, ESPN wanted me to change the password to my Insider. If anyone wants it again, email me or get one of your own. You get one with a magazine subscription, so if that’s your bag, you may want to look into it the legit way. That’s an open statement to everyone that has said information. I see nothing wrong with sharing, for the record. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/6 "2006-05-01T13:27:10Z")
Running back Don Nottingham, “The Human Bowling Ball”, had a decent career with the Colts and Dolphins - and he was from the era when the draft went 17 rounds, not 7. Then the '72 Falcons used their last pick on “John Wayne of Apache State” and the league came to recognize the comic futility of the late rounds. The “Mr. Irrelevant” name is obsolete now that every draftee has a plausible chance to make an NFL roster. Some modern All-Pro players weren’t drafted at all. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/7 "2006-05-01T15:35:38Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] Chargers guy whose name you forget = Lorenzo Neal [/QUOTE] He was picked in the fourth round. ---
**Author:** ![BabaBooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@BabaBooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BabaBooey)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/8 "2006-05-01T15:40:16Z")
[QUOTE=Snooooopy] He was picked in the fourth round. [/QUOTE] He was just comparing him to Mr. Irrelevant, not saying he was one. And boy do I miss that guy playing for the Saints. He was our feature back for a while and he made some ridiculous runs. Then he went and broke Mario Bates’s jaw with his fist and he’s been limited mostly to blocking, which is a shame, but he’s one of the best at it though. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/9 "2006-05-01T15:52:56Z")
[QUOTE=BabaBooey] He was just comparing him to Mr. Irrelevant, not saying he was one. And boy do I miss that guy playing for the Saints. He was our feature back for a while and he made some ridiculous runs. Then he went and broke Mario Bates’s jaw with his fist and he’s been limited mostly to blocking, which is a shame, but he’s one of the best at it though. [/QUOTE] Oops! As for Don Nottingham, the Wikipedia entry for Mr. Irrelevant lists wide receiver Charles Hill as the 442nd and final pick of the 1971 draft. Nottingham went at 441 to the Colts. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/10 "2006-05-01T19:30:27Z")
Damn, I misremembered. Okay, Don Nottingham was the best “Mr. Next To Irrelevant”, then. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/11 "2006-05-01T22:08:24Z")
[QUOTE=Snooooopy] Offensive lineman Matt Elliott carved out a reasonably productive career with a handful of teams – and, unlike the others, he was the Mr. Irrelevant of a draft that still included 12 rounds. [/QUOTE] That was exactly where I was going to go. This [decent](http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_3742893) [human being](http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/events/1997/nflpreview/FEATURES/contributor.html) played 7 years (Average NFL Career is ~4) after the Redskins took him last and even started on Carolina’s NFC Championship Team in 1995. [Link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Irrelevant) to Snooopy’s mentioned Wiki article which has a nice List of the Mr. Irrelevants ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/12 "2006-05-01T23:53:16Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] Ooh…by the way, ESPN wanted me to change the password to my Insider. If anyone wants it again, email me or get one of your own. You get one with a magazine subscription, so if that’s your bag, you may want to look into it the legit way. [/QUOTE] Just out of curiosity, do they regularly require you to change your password, or is this the first time? In any case, I copy & pasted all insider articles regarding all Giants and Jets (plus Billies and Steelers for my buddies) draftees into a Word document for reading on the throne, so I’m all set. Fifty pages chock full of goodness should last me a while. But thanks again. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/13 "2006-05-02T01:06:04Z")
[QUOTE=Snooooopy] Defensive back Mike Green started for the Seattle Seahawks in a Super Bowl. [/QUOTE] The Seahawks just made a trade to acquire Mr. Green just a few weeks ago, he was not with the team last season. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/14 "2006-05-02T02:07:30Z")
[QUOTE=racer72] The Seahawks just made a trade to acquire Mr. Green just a few weeks ago, he was not with the team last season. [/QUOTE] Then fix his Wikipedia entry so innocent souls like me don’t fall prey! Aargh. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/15 "2006-05-02T02:19:53Z")
[Done.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Green_%28football_player%29) [QUOTE=Snooooopy] Then fix his Wikipedia entry so innocent souls like me don’t fall prey! Aargh. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/16 "2006-05-02T02:53:20Z")
[QUOTE=racer72] [Done.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Green_%28football_player%29) [/QUOTE] Harrumph. “He is the only “Mr. Irrelevant” (the last player to be selected in the NFL Draft) that is currently a starter.” Poor Jimmy Finn, still getting no respect. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/17 "2006-05-02T03:00:56Z")
[QUOTE=Ellis Dee] Harrumph. “He is the only “Mr. Irrelevant” (the last player to be selected in the NFL Draft) that is currently a starter.” Poor Jimmy Finn, still getting no respect. [/QUOTE] Even worse, two sentences later: “His starting status with the Seahawks has not been determined at this time.” Although I feel a little better after reading Finn’s wiki page: “Finn has a status among Giants fans a somewhat of a cult hero, as he represents the “little guy” who can still do well, even if he’s undersized. Finn is able to block much larger defensive players fairly well. He is also one of the few Ivy League athletes in the world of modern major professional sports, and even with his modest professional statistics, **one of the most successful football players to have been a Mr. Irrelevant**.” Bolding added by me. ---
**Author:** ![mike1dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mike1dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mike1dog)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/18 "2006-05-02T04:36:40Z")
Slight hijack here. Wouldn’t you be even more irrelevant if you were taken next to last? At least if you’re taken last you get to go to Disney world, and you appear on some news shows. Next to last? Nobody remembers who was taken next to last. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/19 "2006-05-02T16:48:51Z")
He may have only received the title on a technicality, but we shouldn’t forget [the one Mr. Irrelevant to make the Pro Bowl](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Kenney) ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918/20 "2006-05-02T17:17:39Z")
[QUOTE=Ellis Dee] Just out of curiosity, do they regularly require you to change your password, or is this the first time? In any case, I copy & pasted all insider articles regarding all Giants and Jets (plus Billies and Steelers for my buddies) draftees into a Word document for reading on the throne, so I’m all set. Fifty pages chock full of goodness should last me a while. But thanks again. [/QUOTE] No problemmo. This is the first time they’ve asked me to becaues of the multiple ISPs that were accessing it (heh). I don’t mind at all, just email me again for the new one. I think we’ll just limit exposure that way. You get the Insider when you get the Magazine, if that’s a selling point. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-draft-the-best-mr-irrelevant/354918.md?page=2)